29 Dead in Iraq Mosque Bombing

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside Baghdad's largest Sunni mosque tonight, killing 29 people during prayers, a shocking strike on a place of worship similar to the one that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war five years ago. Iraqi security officials said parliament lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi, a Sunni, was among the dead in the 9:40pm attack.

Two security officials and medics at two Baghdad hospitals put the casualty toll at 29 dead and 38 wounded. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suicide attacks generally are a hallmark of al-Qaeda, which is dominated by Sunnis. Intelligence officials have speculated that al-Qaeda will do almost anything to re-ignite sectarian violence, but the group recently had focused on attacking Iraqi security forces and the government to prove how unstable Iraq remains. (More Iraq stories.)